Application Deadline: February 15, 2021

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) is celebrating its 25th anniversary! Due to the COVID-related campus closure, URCAD XXV will be held online again this spring. You will be able to view presentations, watch films, see video of dance and music performances, view artwork, and interact with presenters during the asynchronous event.

Last April, 251 students presented their research and creative work, and thousands of visitors logged on the URCAD online via an interactive platform called VoiceThread. Nothing can compare to being together to be able to celebrate all of the research, scholarship, and creative work of our talented UMBC undergraduate students. Experiencing the live dance performances, being able to talk face to face with students about their research, or being able to take a ride on a kinetic sculpture are things that are meant to be experienced in person, and the energy of hosting URCAD on campus is irreplaceable. But last year’s online event provided a unique experience for visitors to explore the presentations and to interact with presenters in really meaningful ways. The online format also expanded URCAD to a global event- visitors logged on from as far away as Korea and the U.K. 

Mark your calendars for the week of April 19-23, 2021 for URCAD XXV Online!

You can still view the presentations form 2020 here: https://urcad.umbc.edu/departments/

We will host several workshop to help students prepare their online presentations.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Over 300 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects.  They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated.This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

All current undergraduates who have conducted research, scholarship or creative work in the last year may apply to present their results at URCAD. Mentors, fellow students, friends, family members, high school teachers and students, graduate school recruiters, and the general public are invited to attend.

URCAD 2021 Alumni Keynote Speaker

Klaudine Wakasa

Green Economy Advisor to International Governments

’08 B.S. Financial Economics, UMBC
’10 M.Sc. Gender Development and Globalisation, London School of Economics

Klaudine is a Strategy Advisor who has spent her professional career working with government, multilateral/bilateral organizations, and private sectors across the African continent – first as an Advisor within KPMG’s International Development Advisory Service; later as a Strategy Consultant with Dalberg Global Development Advisors; and currently as the Regional lead for the Government of Canada’s effort to build Clean Technology ecosystems in Africa, and for the United Kingdom’s goal of mainstreaming a ‘Green Economy’ approach into its work in Africa. 
(Read more about Klaudine here.)

Questions? Email aprilh@umbc.edu

Save the Date: April 19-25, 2021

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Over 300 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects.  They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated.This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

All current undergraduates who have conducted research, scholarship or creative work in the last year may apply to present their results at URCAD. Mentors, fellow students, friends, family members, high school teachers and students, graduate school recruiters, and the general public are invited to attend.

Apply Now!!

Remember.... YOU ARE research!

ur.umbc.edu

URCAD XXV Online

 April 19- 25, 2021

Present your research, scholarship, or creative work this spring at URCAD XXV!

Applications will open next week, and you can find the form online at:

URCAD.umbc.edu

200-word abstract and mentor approval required to apply. Deadline to apply: Feb. 15, 2021.

You can still view the presentations from URCAD 2020. The technology is easy to use- visit last year’s online event archive to familiarize yourself with the VoiceThread format: https://urcad.umbc.edu/departments/

Alumni Keynote Speaker: Klaudine Wakasa Makokha (’08), Trade Commissioner of Clean Technologies, Government of Canada.

Mark your calendars for the week of April 19-25, 2021 for URCAD XXV Online at URCAD.umbc.edu!

Questions? 

Email: aprilh@umbc.edu

Title: The Effect of Neuronal Network Plasticity and Refinement in Drosophila melanogaster

Nociceptors are sensory neurons that fire in response to sharp pain or heat, but unstimulating firing has also been observed in developing drosophila neuronal networks. We are investigating whether the frequency of this firing could play a role in signaling a synapse to be pruned.

Who is your mentor(s) for your project?
My mentor is Dr. Fernando Vonhoff from the Biology Department. I used to study in the lab break room with some friends who worked on that floor of the Biology Building. I knew some people who were familiar with Dr. Vonhoff’s work and the projects lined up quite well with my interests. The same friends told me how Dr. Vonhoff provided excellent guidance and freedom to those working under him and so I asked if there was anything I could do for the lab.

How did you become interested in this project?
I had previously done some neuroscience research and this project allowed me to not only work on investigating pruning at the scale of a single synapse but also more macro topics such as refinement of a developing neuronal network as a whole.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher?
The hardest part of this project has been the day to day collection of data. It can be repetitive, but it takes a long time to investigate something substantial.

What has been the most rewarding part?
The most rewarding part has been learning new skills and being able to use them to further the project. There is a real feeling of being a part of the neuroscience community when you can perform an experiment that you’ve read in a paper and then actually use that data. 

How will you disseminate your research?
Hopefully, we will have something to publish soon and I plan to present at the Spring URCAD event.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?
I would tell them to read around a good bit to make sure you are interested in the work that you’ll be doing. It is also equally, if not more, important that you find a mentor who you will enjoy working with and who has the time to guide you. As far as getting into a lab, simply send out as many emails as it takes for someone to invite you in for an interview. It might take a month or two but there are so many opportunities on campus to get involved in research.

What are your career goals?
I hope to become a physician.

For the second time in UMBC’s history, Samuel Patterson has earned the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Naomi Mburu (’18 Chemical Engineering) won the award in 2017. Established in 1902, the Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest and perhaps most prestigious international scholarship program in the world, enabling outstanding young people from around the world to undertake full-time postgraduate study at the University of Oxford, (ranked first internationally in the Times Higher Education rankings for 2017 and 2018). Sam was one of only thirty-two students selected from nearly 1,000 applicants, for his outstanding scholarly achievements, his outstanding character, his commitment to others and to the common good, and for his potential for leadership in his academic field. 

At UMBC, Sam is earning a triple degree in Economics, Mathematics, and Statistics. He is a member of the Honors College and a Meyerhoff Scholar. He has participated in three high-level internship experiences: one, with the Harvard Leadership Alliance; another at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business; and most recently at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he evaluated the COVID-induced changes with regard to public transportation usage trends in cities such as New York, resulting in a forthcoming publication. He has consistently been named to the Dean’s and President’s lists at UMBC. His research interests include transportation economics, and bringing together those doing advocacy work and those doing research, introducing new ideas to government leaders and creating real change by providing opportunities for people to escape poverty. His work asks questions about how people access their jobs, schools, hospitals, food, election polls, cultural institutions, via public transportation, and how that access can be improved.

If that isn’t enough, Sam is a dedicated musician who plays multiple instruments and produces music, avidly collects funk music records, and performs locally with his bands. Sam is from Marietta, Georgia, but quickly made Arbutus his home. As the Music Director of the Retriever Music Society, he has performed at OCA Mocha, the UMBC-owned, student-run coffee shop in Arbutus. He has also worked as a volunteer for Creative Coders, an after-school program at Arbutus Middle School, teaching public school children computer coding skills, and he even made efforts to save Mike’s pizza shop in Arbutus when it was going out of business as a result of the COVID pandemic.

The Rhodes Scholarship is a life-changing opportunity for exceptional young people with the potential to make a difference for good in the world. Sam has that rare mixture of grit and excellence that is the best of what UMBC represents. His experience in the U.K. will enrich not only his academic path, but also his personal journey in so many profound ways. We can’t wait to see what he can accomplish with the support he will receive from this scholarship.

See the full UMBC News story here:

https://news.umbc.edu/sam-patterson-umbcs-newest-rhodes-scholar-plans-to-transform-transportation/